Have I not commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage, 

be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, 

for the Lord they God is with thee

withersoever thou goest.

~Joshua 1:9 ~

How fitting are these words for a wagon train

traveleing many days-weeks and months

over lands they had not seen before

They needed to be guided by a strong leader

Each morning before they started their days journey

a young man read verses from the Bible

starting their day on the right foot

made for a better day....

Anna was so dissappointed in her mama who had a secret

but she could not let anyone know or they might be turned back

She had not been the same woman since her son died in the war

and Anna hoped a new beginning would help....

Prairie Song by Mona Hodgson 

will soon be ready 

I hope you will be ready

to read this wonderful story.

Coming soon "Prairie Song" by Mona Hodgson

a delightful story of a wagon train and the journey 

Have you ever thought of their mode of travel

Here are a few facts about "The Wagon"

that would become their home

for many months....

The Pioneers traveled in a wagon called a covered wagon. The wagon was usually a wooden wagon made of hickory, oak, or maple.  A wooden piece made from hickory stuck out from the front of the wagon.  This piece called a tongue was connected to the yoke of the oxen, mules, or horses.

The wagon could not carry more than 2,000 pounds.  It had big wooden hoops, called bows that were bent from side to side.  There would be 4 to 7 wooden hoops on one wagon.  There was a canvas pulled across the hoops that would keep out the rain, wind, and the hot sunshine.  Pioneers would rub oil on the canvas to make it waterproof.  Inside the wagon there were many hooks that hung from the wooden hoops.  They could hang weapons, clothes, milk cans, and anything there was room for.  The front wheels of the wagon were smaller than the back wheels.  This helped the wagon turn.  Underneath the back wheels there was a bucket full of grease hanging from the axle. This was used to make the wheels run smoothly.  The conestoga wagons were called prairie schooners because from a distance the conestoga wagon looked like a ship sailing slowly across the green prairie.  Traveling in a wagon was not an easy trip.  There were many things that could go wrong.  For example some wagon wheels would break or there would be no water.  If  they ran out of food they would need to hunt.  When they were on the trail it was very noisy because all the pots and pans hanging off the wagons were clanging against each other.

                         ~The first step in a challenging journey is often the one that means the most.~

Coming soon a A Journey you won't want to miss by Mona Hodgson..."Prairie Song"

Catherine's Pursuit by Lena Nelson Dooley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series McKenna's Daughters by Lena Nelson Dooley, book #3 "Catherine's Pursuit"

  Although this is the last book in a series it could well be read by itself and be a wonderful story.  This is the story of Catherine (one of triplets) who found out on 18th birthday that she had sisters which she had never known before.
Catherine had always wished she had siblings but had lost her mother when she was born.  It was a devastating blow to learn that there were two sisters out there, she had never seen and they looked just like her, as they were identical triplets.
 As book #1 began there was a wagon train with a young couple Angus & Lenora who was with child.  When Lenora gave birth to triplets and then died shortly afterwards her husband was devastated and didn't know how he would raise 3 little girls, there had been another woman on the train who had lost a baby and was so sad that he knew she would love his little girl and be a good mama so he let her adopt his daughter and then another couple childless that wanted children so badly got the third little girl, he gave each the middle name of Lenora and he kept the oldest child Catherine....
Angus regretted his choice many times over the years but he would not go back and disrupt lives of the girls and their parents so he dealt with his pain with God's help over the years.

Colin is a young man who had been a  captain of a ship that had been lost when a very bad storm caused it to go down, he was a hero to many as he made sure all lives were saved and didn't think of his own safety.
He bore scars of that fateful journey and had never forgave himself for losing a ship....

Angus McKenna knew Colin was a good young man and he took him into the business to help him with his work, Angus sent Colin to watch over Catherine after she ran away..it was a job he did reluctantly as he thought the young lady was a selfish self centered haughty person...

You will want to read this wonderful story and see how Catherine decides to run away and pursue finding her sisters, the trip that will end with many surprises...

I was given this book by Booketeria to read and review, Tnank you...
We could all learn many things on this journey as a young man learns how to forgive himself, a young girl learns to think of others more and less of herself, we learn when choices are made, God needs to help us make them and help us deal with the afterwards...
I enjoyed reading about the different lives of three born at one time -raised seperately but yet with many of the same quirks....


View all my reviews

~A Feud in amish lands~

Adoring Addie by Leslie Gould
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Adoring Addie is book #2 in series "The Courtship of Lancaster County"
by Leslie Gould


There was bitterness between the Cramers and Mosiers for as long as anyone remembered...Why???    No one would talk about this so it continued until...
Adalaide Cramer and Jonathan Mosier became friends and then wanted to become more then friends, they decided enough was enough and they would try to end the bitterness once and for all..Do you think two young people can undo what has been happening for many years in the community?
Addie's folks want her to marry Philip the son of the Bishop of their community and he too had decided they would be a good match for one another.  He seemed to always be around.
Addie has brothers older then she and some younger but she was the only daughter of her parents and much work was put on her as her mother spent a lifetime it seemed in depression.  Addie's aunt lived with them and was some help with the chores but the mother was always busy writing list and supervising it seemed.
I felt like Addie was always working and helping others and seemed to have little time for herself so when a young man (Jonathan) came into the community and started paying attention to her she was smitten from the start.  His caring heart touched hers from the beginning.  When the family found out he was a Mosier she was told to stay away from him and they seemed to double their efforts to have her marry Phillip.

Jonathan and Addie want to reconcile the two families, will their love be enough to keep them together or will long held secrets ruin their chance at happiness???

I received this book from Bethany House publishers to read and review, I give my honest thoughts here.


View all my reviews

Another day and another thought about an Author...........a new book.........and YOU the readers.

SNEAK PEEK: Prairie Song by Mona Hodgson

Posted on June 6, 2013.

The first step in a challenging journey is often the one that means the most. 

Though it means saying goodbye to the beloved friends and spiritual mentors of her St. Charles, Missouri quilting circle, Anna Goben is certain that she needs to enlist her family in the Boones Lick Company wagon train. The loss of her beloved brother in the Civil War has paralyzed her mother and grandfather in a malaise of grief and depression and Anna is convinced that only a fresh start in the Promised Land of California can bring her family back to her. Although the unknown perils of the trail west loom, Anna’s commitment to caring for her loved ones leaves no room for fear—or even loving someone new.

Coming soon a new book by author Mona Hodgson "Prairie Song"..

MONA HODGSON writes western, historical romance for WaterBrtook Multnomah. She is the author of Two Brides Too Many, Too Rich for a Bride, The Bride Wore Blue, and Twice a Bride in THE SINCLAIR SISTERS OF CRIPPLE CREEK SERIES and THE QUILTED HEART eNovella Series--Dandelions on the Wind, Bending Toward the Sun, and Ripples Along te Shore (February/April/May 2013 releases). Her writing credits also include nearly thirty children’s books, contributions to eleven books for adults, and hundreds of short stories, articles, and poems in newspapers and magazines. One of Mona’s favorite things to do (besides writing or eating dark chocolate) is to speak at women's retreats and schools, and for women’s groups, librarians, and at writers’ conferences throughout the United States and Canada. Mona lives in Arizona with her husband, Bob. 

I have been chosen to work with the team that will help launch this book and am proud to do so.
Mona has many books she has written and I must confess I have not read them all but when I pick
up a book by this author I know it will have been researched so that the reader will feel as if they
are there with the characters living the story...  page by page and chapter by chapter to the end, she
puts her heart into her stories for readers.

Forsaken Dreams by M.L. Tyndall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

MaryLu Tyndall has a new series Escape to Paradise, Book #1 is "Forsaken Dreams"

This author is passionate about the sea and all that surrounds it and you can certainly tell by the way she writes.  You won't be dissappointed when you pick up this book to read.
A group of misfits some might call them, an army officer who still has dreams of the terrible war times where his brother died at a young age.
Colonel Blake Wallace has hand-picked several to join him on a journey to Brazil where he is told the land is like Milk and honey told about in the Bible.
Eliza Crawford was an army nurse and has seen many things a young genteel lady should never have seen, she wants, NO- Needs to, leave the south where she was raised and start a new life...
James is a Dr who cannot stand blood and leans more to being a preacher because his love of God is first and foremost.
Hayden is a con man who is searching for his father though no one knows this secret.  He exudes charm to all.
A group of 19 souls will inhabit the ship along with the crew and many have secrets..some will come out and cause much havoc.
The ship is plagued with catastrophies it seems from the very beginning, items misplaced or stolen, storms that make a tornado seem tame.  But..are their dreams forsaken?  can this group live together long enough to survive and reach their destination?
They must struggle with the challenge to keep going when it seems all is lost and they should return before they lose their very own soul.
I became lost in the emotions that swirled just like the ocean waters as I read from page to page praying they would be able to persevere.

I received this book from The Bookclub network and author MaryLu Tyndall, thanks for my opportunity to read and give a review.  I am anxious to read the next book and see how the characters go forth with their lives after reaching Brazil.


View all my reviews